Toy mortar



June 10', 1952 P, K PF 2,600,116

TOY MORTAR Filed Jan. 30, 1951 2 SHEETS-SHEET l INVENTOR. PHIL lP KOPF.

BY W

ATTORNEY.

June 10, 1952 P. KOPF 2,600,116

TOY MORTAR Filed Jan. 30 1951 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 .6. ig Z #3 .8.

INVENTOR. PH/L IP KOPE ATTORNEY.

Patented June 10, 1952 UNITED STATE TENT OFFICE.

'iIQ-Y. M RTAR- ih ir Kort. oklxn, erni eat cn J nua y 39, 1951; Se a z 5.6

9 a ms. (C :2 am) invention. relates to a to mo tar. and.

pr iectll for: said. mertan The. pr ncipalect; f. this invention. the. provision of a realis i toy mortar. whi h aut ma ically fires. a, projectile when the projectile is droppedinto thebarrel. of. themortar. A catapull? mechanism i provided. in he. mo tar. o projecting the projectile therefrom. The catapult is spring-urged and it may be releasably engagedj by a lever to, draw it backwardly to loaded position against the spring action. Trip means.

is provided for releasing the catapult from the lever to free the catapult for forward movement in response to the spring action. The trip means is so situated within the barrel of the mortar that it intercepts a projectile which is dropped into said barrel. Hence, dropping the, projectile into the, barrel automaticall trips the trip means. to release the catapult for forward movement in response to the spring action and against the veryprojectile which initiated the action.

Another important object of the invention is the provision of a toy mortar of the character described which is pivotally mounted on a horizontal pivot and which is adjustable about said pivot among a plurality of individually selectable angularpositions. The mortar is pivotally mounted ona base and there is an adjustable support between the mortar and the base, a spaced distance from the pivot, to fix the mortar in any one of the several angular positions.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a projectile for said toy mortar, which is adapted to fire the mortar when it is dropped into the barrel of the mortar and which is also adapted to explode a cap when it strikes the ground following its discharge from the mortar, The projectile is provided with fins at its back end for tripping the trip means and thereby releasing the catapult. At its forward end it is provided with a war head which consists of a fixed part and a movable part. The explosive cap is placed between the two parts and when the war head strikesthe ground, the movable part moves backwardly toward the fixed part and crushes the cap against said fixed part. thereby causing the cap. to explode.

A preferred te m of this invention is shown in heaccompanying drawin in wh ch;

lis aside view of the. toy mortar.

Eig. 21s a top view thereof, showing the projectile in its barrel.

Fig. 3 isa. front view oi said mortar.

Fig. 4. is a fragmentary section through thebarrel, of the mortar and through one of the 2: tubular members in. which. one, f snrz or the catapult: or the mortar may: be mounted:-

Fig. 4a is; a transverse; section; on; the line la-=51; of: Fig. 4;

Fig 5 is a perspective view. of said. tubular; housing forone: 012 the, springs.

Fig; 61 is a. longitudinali' section; thID -l lr the. mortar, showing the catapult mechanism.

Fig. 7? is. another:- longitudinal: section thkfi l. ona plane which. is perpendiculait to the plane of the section ofFig. 6.

Fig. 711-. is an. exploded view; partly section, of several: of the parts of the catapult: me hanism, including thecatch member which. engages the lever and the trip: means which disengages the catch from the lever.

Fig. 8: is. a view: similar to that. of Fig. 7:. but showing: the catapultin loaded posit on-and; the projectile. dropping into. engagement therewith,

Fig. 9 issa view similar-tov that: Qfj." Ei f 1 ing the. projectile. ready for discharge irom e. mortar, the catapult. mechanism? having bpenz ie leased for forward movement-in response to the: spring action;

Fig. 10- shows the projectile following: its discharge irom. the mortar and" upon striking err-- gagement with the ground;

Fig. 11 is a detailed view of the projectile, showingits war head partlybroken away. andin section to show its fixed and movable parts.

The mortar shown in the drawing; is mounted on abase 2 2 The principal-member of the mortar is a barrel 24 which ispivotally mounted on a horizontal pivot 25 which is supported by brackets 28 and 3|] on base 22. Horizontal pivot,26- extends transversely of thelongitudinal axis. of the barrel. A spaced distance. from brackets 28 and 30 isapost 32 which isresiliently-secured to the base by means of stud- 34 and spring 36 on said stud. A plurality of vertically spaced notches 38 are formed in post 32' and these, notches are engageable by means of a pin 40 supported. by brackets 42 and' 44, respectively, on barrel 24. The post may be canted against the action of spring 36 so; as to enable. pin 451 to be shifted from any one notch 38, to. any other notch 3,8. This process of shift-- ing the pin from one notch to another has the efiect. o lock ng. he. barre n. se e dj neul r posit ons. b ut pivot 26..

Pin. 4.9.. pertorrns h addit onal fun tion of; pivotally supporting, one end. of. lever 46. The opposite end of the lever is provided with, a knob or handle at by means. of which the, lever be swung. up ar y. 0 downwar l bout sa d re n.

46. It will be noted in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 that slots 56 and 52 are formed in the barrel, longitudinally thereof, and diametrically opposite each other, to accommodate the lever and to enable the lever to move upwardly and downwardly relative to the barrel. Slot 56 is a bayonet slot as ofiset portion 54 of said slot clearly shows. See Fig. 6. The lever may be locked in its lowermost position by simply slipping it into said offset portion 54 of slot 50.

It will be noted that there are two channelshaped members 56 and 58, respectively, on opposite sides of barrel 24. channel member 56 and a second lug 62 at the bottom of said channel member secure said channel member to the side of the barrel and channel member 58 is provided with corresponding lugs for the same purpose. It will be noted in Fig. 6 that the barrel is provided with slots 64 and 66, respectively, on opposite sides thereof and that communication between channel members 56 and 58 on the one hand and the inside of the barrel on the other hand may be had through said slots 64 and 66. Mounted within said channel members are extension springs '68 and 16, respectively, the upper ends of said springs being hooked into holes 12 formed in the barrel wall. The lower ends of the springs are hooked into the ends of a cross-bar '14 which extends transversely of the barrel and through slots 64 and 66.. It will be apparent from an examination of Figs. 6, 7 and 8 that said cross-bar I4 is movable downwardly against the action of the springs and movable upwardly in response to the action of said springs. It is these two springs which provide the catapult with its firing power.

A pair of brackets I6 are secured to cross-bar I4 and a pin I8 is supported by said brackets. Pivotally mounted on said pin is a conbination catch and trip member 86. The lower end of said member has a pair of offset portions 82 which serve as catches and they are both referred to herein, collectively, as a catch. The upper end 84 of said pivotally mounted member 86 projects upwardly and slopingly to form a trip means which is adapted to intercept projectile 86 when the projectile is dropped into the barrel of the mortar. A torsion spring 88 is also mounted on pin 18 and its function is to urge the pivoted member 80 to pivot in clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. '7. One of the ends of the torsion spring engages cross-bar I4 and the opposite end engages the trip end 84 of said pivoted member 80.

A cross-pin 86 is secured to lever 46 by means of a bracket 92. The ends of said cross-pin project into and through slots 64 and 66 and retaining rings or plates 94 are secured to the ends of said cross-pin to engage the wall of the barrel and prevent dislodgement of said cross-pin from said slots. The cross-pin being fixed to the lever moves integrally therewith and when the lever is swung upwardly to its Fig. '7 position, said cross-pin engages catch 82. The lever may then be swung downwardly to its Fig. 8 position and when this is done, the pivoted member 86 and the cross-bar I4 which supports said pivot member are both pulled downwardly against the action of the two springs 68 and 16. The lever may then be moved sidewardly into offset portion 54 of slot 50 in order to lock the lever in its lowermost position. The springs are now loaded and so is the catapult of which said springs are component parts.

When projectile 86 is dropped into the barrel of the mortar, it engages trip portion 64 of pivmovable member. A lug 60 at the top of oted member 86 and causes said pivoted member to pivot in counter-clockwise direction, thereby disengaging its catch 82 from cross-pin 96. The catapult mechanism is now free to move upwardly in response to the action of the loaded springs 68 and I6 and to project said projectile out of the barrel of the mortar.

Projectile 86 is provided at its back end with a plurality of fins 96 and at its forward end with a war head 98 having a movably mounted leading member I66 and a fixed member I02 behind said Fixed member I02 has an annular flange I04 which encircles movable member I66 and retains said movable member in place. A double-ended bayonet slot I66 is formed in said annular flange I64 and the movable member I66 of the war head is provided with a pin I68 which is engageable with said bayonet slot. The ends of the bayonet slot limit the range of axial movement of movable member I66 of the war head and the annular flange I64 prevents lateral movement of said movable member I00. An explosive cap may be placed between the movable and fixed members of the war head so that when the projectile strikes the ground H6 as shown in Fig. 10, the movable component crushes the cap against the fixed component and explodes the same.

It will be noted in Fig. 10 that it is the war head which strikes the ground. It will be noted in Fig. 9 that it is the fins which engage the trip end of pivotally mounted member 66. The fins also serve to guide the projectile in the barrel, both in its downward movement as viewed in Fig. 8 and in its upward movement as viewed in Fig. 9.

It will be understood that the foregoing is descriptive of a preferred form of this invention and that said preferred form may be modified in many ways within the broad scope and spirit of the invention and of the claims.

av thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A toy mortar comprising a barrel, a springurged catapult in said barrel, a lever, a catch between the lever and the catapult, whereby the lever may be raised to engage the catapult and lowered to retract the catapult to loaded posi--- tion, and trip means connected to the catch for releasing the catapult for forward movement in response to the spring action, said trip means being situated to intercept a projectile which is dropped into the barrel so that it may be tripped by the projectile to release the catapult.

2. A toy mortar comprising a barrel which is ivotally mounted on a horizontal pivot transverse to the longitudinal axis of the barrel, an adjustable catch connected to the barrel for supporting the barrel in selected angular positions about said horizontal pivot, a spring-urged catapult in said barrel, an upwardly and downwardly swingable lever, a catch between the lever and the catapult, whereby the lever may be swung upwardly to operatively engage the catapult and swung downwardly to retract the catapult to loaded position against the spring action, and trip means connected to said last-mentioned catch for releasing the catapult for forward movement in response to the spring action, said trip means being situated to intercept a pro- .lectile which is dropped into the barrel of the mortar, so that dropping a projectile into the barrel trips the trip means and releases the catapult for forward movement against the projectile.

3. A toy mortar comprising a barrel, a springurged catapult in said barrel, said catapult including a pivotally mounted member whose back end constitutes a catch and whose front end constitutes trip means which actuates said catch, and a lever having a pin which is e g eable with the catch to draw the catapult backwardly to loaded position against the spring action, said trip means being positioned to intercept a projectile which is dropped into the barrel to release the catch and to free the catapult for forward movement in response to the spring action.

4. A toy mortar comprising a barrel, a springurged catapult in said barrel, said catapult having a pivotally mounted member whose back end constitutes a catch and whose front end constitutes trip means for actuating said catch, a lever having a pin which is engageable with the catch to draw the catapult backwardly to loaded position against the spring action, and a second catch which engages the lever to hold the catapult in loaded position, said trip means being positioned to intercept a projectile which is dropped into the barrel to release the first mentioned catch and to free the catapult for forward movement in response to the spring action.

5. A toy mortar in accordance with claim 4, wherein the pivotally mounted member is mounted on a pivot which is transverse to the longitudinal axis of the barrel, a torsion spring being connected to said pivotally mounted member to urge its catch end into engagement with a pin on said lever and to hold it in engagement with said pin until a projectile which is dropped into the barrel strikes its trip end and thereby causes said pivotally mounted member to pivot against the action of its torsion spring and to release its catch end from engagement with the pin on the lever.

6. A toy mortar in accordance with claim 4, wherein the barrel is pivotally mounted on a base for pivotal movement about a horizontal aXis which is transverse to the longitudinal axis 6 of the barrel, adjustable supporting means being provided between the barrel and. the base a spaced distance from said horizontal axis for selectively positioning said barrel in selected positions about said horizontal axis.

7. A combination toy mortar and projectile therefor, said mortar comprising a barrel, a spring-urged catapult in said barrel, a catch on said catapult, a lever having a pin which is engageable with said catch for retracting the catapult to loaded position against the spring action, and trip means connected to said catch for releasing the catch from said pin and thereby freein the catapult for forward movement in response to the spring action, said projectile being provided with trip-engaging means for tripping the trip means when it is dropped into the barrel.

8. A combination toy mortar and projectile therefor in accordance with claim 7, wherein the projectile is provided with a cap-receiving war head at its forward end and with fins at its back end, said fins constituting the trip-engaging means.

9. A combination toy mortar and projectile therefor in accordance with claim 8, wherein the war head of the projectile consists of a fixed part and a movable part to receive the cap between them and to explode the cap when the movable part moves toward the fixed part upon striking the ground.

. PHILIP KOPF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of recordin the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,183,940 Wikette May 23, 1916 1,274,882 Hess Aug. 6, 1918 1,285,287 McDaniel Nov. 19, 1918 1,813,985 Blackmore -1 July 14, 1931 2,131,048 Keyser Sept. 27, 1938 2,534,976 Kidder Dec. 19, 1950 

